1. Technical Field:
This invention relates to stair rail assemblies of the type positioned alongside a stairway to provide a convenient hand rail.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Prior structures of this type are usually affixed to the tread portions of a stairway and/or a wall against which the stairway is positioned.
U. S. Pat. No. 4,556,201 illustrates a conventional stair rail secured to a wall alongside a stairway and having a secondary, temporary hand rail positioned therebelow at a convenient height for small children or toddlers. The secondary hand rail is secured to the wall and to a plurality of elongated depending hanging devices which are attached to the conventional stair rail supports.
U. S. Pat. No. 3,788,608 illustrates a modular folding rail in which upright tubular sockets are affixed to the horizontal step portions of a bleacher structure and in which-posts are positioned so as to adjustably position a hand rail thereabove, and Pat. No. 3,433,460 illustrates a conventional hand rail and a means for mounting the same on a wall incorporating a novel mounting bracket and means therein for attaching the hand rail thereto.
The present invention discloses a stair rail for toddlers or young children in which mounting brackets having right angular surfaces engageable with tread and riser portions of a stairway are secured to the stair structure and/or a wall so as to desirably position the mounting brackets in fixed relation to the stair structure. Each of the mounting brackets has an angularly disposed tubular socket extending therefrom for the reception of posts which carry T-fittings on their outer ends in which a longitudinally extending stair rail is positioned. The angularly disposed tubular sockets on the mounting brackets position the posts at an angle from the vertical and at an angle from the side of the stair structure or wall so as to position the longitudinally extending hand rail in spaced relation to the wall and at a height where it is conveniently grasped by a young child or toddler.